Named Insured

Definition - What does Named Insured mean?

Named insured is the listed owner of a policy and is the only recognized as such by the insurance company. The named insured can be a person or an organization. He or she or the legal representative of the organization is the only one allowed to transact with the insurer in most cases like modifications and claims.

Insuranceopedia explains Named Insured

A policy usually has one owner. However, in joint insurance, there can be two policy owners. The insurance owner is the one listed in the policy and is called named insured.This might become tricky in some cases.

In a liability insurance policy for vehicles, it is the driver that is covered. If the driver and policyholder is involved in an accident, the insurance company covers the driver and not the vehicle. Family members are implicitly covered and are often insured. However, a driver not listed on the policy is not covered.

In a comprehensive insurance policy for vehicles, it is the vehicle rather than the driver that is covered. So, if the vehicle is involved in an accident, the insurer might pay for the damage even if it's is not driven by the policyholder or named insured at the time of the accident.